MMA & violence

[Oso]

MA and role playing go hand in hand I am afraid to say.

say it isn't so!!!!!

on the MMA side of things as well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm shocked and outraged. There go all my dreams of MMA being something different...something real...something you could count on...hold in your hands........

[GeneChing]

"Fight Club was the beginning, now it's moved out of the basement, it's called Project Mayhem." Tyler Durden

Police see risks with recent fights in city parks
By ZACH BENOIT Of The Gazette Staff
Mixed martial arts is everywhere. Spend a few minutes channel surfing and there's a good chance you'll come across a mixed martial arts, commonly called MMA, match.

If you attended Thursday Night Fights at the Bab**** Theater throughout the 2007-2008 season, you may have seen one in downtown Billings. And facilities that teach MMA have been popping up around town.

But if you were near either Poly Vista or Pioneer Park a few weeks ago, you may have seen an unsanctioned, unofficial match.

Shortly after 9 p.m. on April 11, Billings Police officers responded to reports of a large fight involving more than 100 people in the baseball field at Arrowhead Elementary near Poly Vista Park. When officers arrived, the group scattered.
They managed to detain a handful of onlookers and were informed that it was not 100 people fighting but two.

Unofficial match
The rest of the crowd was there to watch the unofficial MMA match. Billings Police Sgt. Kevin Iffland said the group appeared to be mostly teenagers and that the fighters were wearing padded gloves and may have been fighting in timed rounds.

A short time later, the crowd regrouped at Pioneer Park to continue the match. Police were once again dispatched to calls of a large fight, and the crowd scattered again.

At the second incident, a teenager was arrested for obstructing a peace officer, but no other citations were issued.

Over the past several years, MMA has exploded into popular culture. Basically full contact, it combines a variety of sports including boxing, wrestling and martial arts. Two mutual combatants, usually wearing padded gloves, square off in a ring and attempt to defeat the other by knockout or forcing him to give up in a series of timed rounds.

"It's a very volatile topic right now," said Terrill Bracken, who owns and operates American Fusion Martial Arts in Billings. "It's in movies, it's on every TV network. It has a huge impact. But it's just like anything else in that it can be a positive thing."

At least three centers, including American Fusion, in Billings teach MMA in some form. Bracken said the sport has seen increasing popularity in Billings in the past two years, and students in his classes range from "hard-core competitors to moms to doctors."

'We've got this phenomenon ...'
Police have come across at least three unofficial MMA fights in Billings parks - including the two on April 11 - since the beginning of the month, Police Chief Rich St. John said.

"We've got this phenomenon showing up in parks and drawing large crowds to them," he said.

The events have drawn hundreds of spectators, St. John said, and that poses a large problem. While the Police Department does not want unsanctioned events like this going on in city parks, participants technically aren't doing anything illegal. If they agree to the match and follow city park rules and regulations, it is not much different than two wrestlers practicing in park, at least in the eyes of the law.

However, if the crowds are large and causing too much noise and community members call the police, they can be disturbing the peace, which is illegal, Iffland said.

"If they're disturbing somebody else's peace, that would be where the police are getting involved," he said.

Such a large number of people gathering to watch the fights poses a larger risk, both to the crowds and the surrounding neighborhoods. With possibly dozens of vehicles coming to and from a small area like a park parking lot, the risk of a traffic-related accident increases substantially.

Add to that the fact that - as with the April 11 incidents - the crowd sometimes bolts when police show up, and some of those fleeing may try to get to their vehicles and leave, and that risk increases again.

"It seems to attract crowds that go racing down the street," said City Council member Ed Ulledelan, who has received calls from concerned constituents regarding the Poly Vista incident.

The risk to participants is also greater because they are not competing in a controlled, professional environment, Bracken said. At American Fusion, fights are closely refereed, fighters are required to wear safety gear at all times, and a strict set of rules is enforced. But, in the parks, those rules may not be so rigid, and fighters may not use safety gear at all.

"While I appreciate the enthusiasm, parks and playgrounds are no place for MMA," Bracken said. "It's not a safe environment. No matter how soft the grass seems, it's not the same. If they want to play like the big boys, they need to have some responsibility."

St. John said the crowd, high on the excitement from the fight, "can easily develop into a mob mentality," with larger brawls breaking out amongst onlookers, presenting serious problems to surrounding neighborhoods.

Response
When police determined the crowds and fighters were largely made up of teenagers, one of the first steps taken was informing the school resource officers with the goal of identifying people involved.

"We want to get out there to who's doing this," Iffland said. "It's mainly got to be done through the schools."

To date, the only arrest made was the obstruction arrest on April 11, but the resource officers are working to identify the participants and educate students of the dangers of unofficial events such as the park fights, St. John said.

"We obviously don't want unsanctioned events in our parks," he said. "There are proper places and times to do it."

Bracken said anyone interested in MMA should follow the proper channels and begin taking classes instead of taking it the parks. One of the most important aspects, he said, is not the fighting itself, but the discipline, technique and respect that it teaches.

"Things like this do more harm than good for the sport," he said. "All it takes is one person getting hurt. Those rules are put in place for a reason."

[sanjuro_ronin]

It seems that it may end up falling on the shoulders of the coaches and teachers in gyms and schools involved in MMA to remind their trainees that MMA is a SPORT and must be fought in sanctioned events or at the gym.
Nothing else will be tolerated.

[1bad65]

It seems that it may end up falling on the shoulders of the coaches and teachers in gyms and schools involved in MMA to remind their trainees that MMA is a SPORT and must be fought in sanctioned events or at the gym.
Nothing else will be tolerated.

I'd be willing to bet most of the 'trainers' don't have the training or experience needed to train people in MMA. There have been quite a few guys busted over on Bullshido running MMA gyms who have absolutely NO training in MMA at all.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I'd be willing to bet most of the 'trainers' don't have the training or experience needed to train people in MMA. There have been quite a few guys busted over on Bullshido running MMA gyms who have absolutely NO training in MMA at all.

I think you missed the point.

[1bad65]

What is the point then?

You said it might fall on the shoulders of coaches in MMA gyms. So I pointed out that the poseurs who open gyms have no clue anyway. Notice you never see guys from legit gyms involved in this stuff.

I know no one I've ever trained with would do this crap. And I train under legit guys who have proven experience and lineage.

[Oso]

if it were teenagers then they are probably fighting out there because they can't fight a full on adult rules match anywhere and, as kids, they think they are bulletproof and should be allowed and because they aren't, they take it upon themselves.

not really any different a situation than anything else that is forbidden to kids that they decide they want to do.

[sanjuro_ronin]

What is the point then?

You said it might fall on the shoulders of coaches in MMA gyms. So I pointed out that the poseurs who open gyms have no clue anyway. Notice you never see guys from legit gyms involved in this stuff.

I know no one I've ever trained with would do this crap. And I train under legit guys who have proven experience and lineage.

The point being that wither someone is "qualified" to teach MMA ( and I put qualified in quotations because qualifications are up in the at this time) is not the issue, the issue is instilling a sense of responsibility and common sense into a trainee in regards to what he is learning and how/where he can test it.
If the people teaching it don't care, why should the trainee?

By the way, did you just mention "lineage" ??
LOL !!

[Becca]

What is the point then?

You said it might fall on the shoulders of coaches in MMA gyms. So I pointed out that the poseurs who open gyms have no clue anyway. Notice you never see guys from legit gyms involved in this stuff.

I know no one I've ever trained with would do this crap. And I train under legit guys who have proven experience and lineage.

I'll refute that statement... and with a video link, too.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/vide...304302008&ts=H

[golden arhat]

I'd be willing to bet most of the 'trainers' don't have the training or experience needed to train people in MMA. There have been quite a few guys busted over on Bullshido running MMA gyms who have absolutely NO training in MMA at all.

yeah i'l bet there are more than a few guys who are intermediate at JJ judo and muay thai no trally excelling at either who are peddlingg MMA

[Yao Sing]

What park were the kids rolling at again?

Again, where is this rolling in the park you speak of?

Are you really that lazy that you can't refer back to the first page to get the name of the parks?

"But if you were near either Poly Vista or Pioneer Park a few weeks ago, you may have seen an unsanctioned, unofficial match."

You want to know the city and state go look it up.

The scary part is you just more or less agreed with what i've been saying, and you're absolutely convinced you got the best of this argument.

There is no end to the amusement provided by some of these threads. I'm seriously beginning to think that MMA has a detrimental effect on brain cells.

I'd be willing to bet most of the 'trainers' don't have the training or experience needed to train people in MMA. There have been quite a few guys busted over on Bullshido running MMA gyms who have absolutely NO training in MMA at all.

Are you referring to MMA as a style (combo of MT, BJJ and Boxing) or are these guys teaching with NO martial arts background at all. Not bashing or starting a fight, just want to clarify.

And I train under legit guys who have proven experience and lineage.

I just really like this statement (mostly the 'lineage' part) coming from a guy training MMA style.

The line between MMA and TCMA is rapidly blurring. Seriously, has a clear definition of MMA been established and agreed on by all? I ask because peeps seem to keep referring to it like it's a style. Case in point the thread on the Southern Forum about CLF vs MMA.